MP Sanjay Raut in ED’s custody till the 4th of August 2022

Patra Chawl scam

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut

Mumbai – The Special Court of Enforcement Directorate (ED) has sent Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut to ED’s custody till the 4^th of August 2022 in connection with Goregaon’s Patra Chawl money laundering case. ED accused Sanjay Raut of being the mastermind of Patra Chawl’s scam and asked for 8 days of Police custody for him.

Sanjay Raut sent to ED custody till August 4; support pours in from Sena, Cong; protest staged: Key developments https://t.co/tCBl6ymn39

— TOI India (@TOIIndiaNews) August 1, 2022

Advocate Ashok Mundargi presenting Sanjay Raut’s case in Court said, “Sanjay Raut’s arrest was politically motivated. The main accused Pravin Raut has been arrested in this case many months ago but why no action has still been taken against him ? The money received by Varsha Raut was directly deposited into his account. Had there been misappropriation of funds, the bank would not have accepted such money. The money paid by him for the house and land was earned legally. Also, the accusation against Sanjay Raut of his not cooperating with the investigations is false. Whenever he was called for an inquiry, he cooperated. All the money with Sanjay Raut has been earned in a lawful manner.”

ED’s lawyer Hiten Venegaonkar said in his argument that Sanjay Raut’s family has financially benefitted from the Patra Chawl scam. Pravin Raut’s involvement was just the namesake of this scam. All transactions were carried out by Sanjay Raut. He has threatened the witnesses of this case. If he is not detained, he might do similar things again.

What’s the Patra Chawl case ?

In 2007, Guru Ashish Construction Pvt Ltd signed an agreement with Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) to provide 672 tenants of Patra Chawl, located in Mumbai’s suburban Goregaon, with new homes, then develop flats for MHADA and sell the remaining area to private developers.

According to the ED, however, Sanjay Raut’s close aide Pravin Raut and the other directors of Guru Ashish constructions didn’t construct a single house for the 672 displaced tenants. They allegedly sold the floor space index to nine private developers, collecting Rs 901.79 crore.